Gang, Hypothetically, if you were to chose an "international" I-6 engine / trans to use in a 50's style sports rod, what would you select? Think, say, a Deuce roadster or Old Yeller style special built in the vein of an Allard, Cunningham, or Kurtis and made to run on airport, closed course or Mexican road race circuits. American engines aren't ruled out, but the idea would be to pick an I-6 that was exported widely and also produced in performance variants, such as British Leyland, Mercedes, Land Rover or GM and Ford? Willys? The idea would be to stay away from the more exotic mills, like Jags and keep with the more pedestrian or utilitarian area of the world market. I'll take small V-8 nominations, too, if you're dead set against the in-liners. Just wondering... Gary
Whoa... pretty snappy. I wonder if there was ever a small disp I-6 made in alloy? The only down side to the big 6's is weight, eh? Datsun? Yota? BMW? Later, Gary
I'd stay away from the BMW 6 inlines. They had a period of cracking cylinderheads ( and using oil/smoking), so I dont trust any of them...
That was an emissions problem on some US spec BMWs for a couple years in the middle 70s - they used exhaust manifolds equipped with what they called a thermal reactor which could cause overheating. It was a crude attempt to meet US emissions, once they got rid of them the engines were long lived. My old BMW has 200,000 miles on it, I know guys driving around with 400,000 miles plus and the engines have never been apart. Having said all that, BMWs are slant 6's, so they may or may not fit well in a rod. For foreign engines I'd look at a Jaguar, you can find them in XJ-6's and the newer engines look pretty much the same as they did in the 1950s once you strip off all the modern injection and emissions parts. For US engines, I'd look for a 4.2 liter six out of a Jeep Cherokee. They were strong engines and are plentiful. They're also an evolution of the old Rambler six, which in turn was an evolution of the old Nash six, so they have some heritage. Barney Navarro took a turbocharged Nash to Indy one year.
GMC 302's were used in many race cars during the 50's. Cliffords manifolds were aftermarket for them. I don't know if their website is still up anymore, but a guy on there had a 302 that was supercharged and in a 1946 one ton dually. I'm not sure how fast it was, but it sure could lite up the tires.
Always thought it would be fun to use a continental 225, used them in forklifts and stationary equipment up through the 80's. Maybe a chevy 292. Any of the ford motors would be cool, the 300's are easy to get a hold of. I'm thinking the higher compression FI head with dual exhaust and a custom 3x1 carb intake ought to be fun.
There were several ch***is makers who used Jaguar engines (Lister comes to mind) And along with the GMC 302-270 series would be my choice for the most popular inline six, world wide, Of the fifties.
How about a 308 Hudson "Twin-H Power" engine? They just about ruled NASCAR in the early '50's and where compe***ive in drag racing in the NHRA stock cl***es right into the late 1960's. I think Clifford still has speed parts for them. Mart3406 ===============
Thanx for your inputs gents... I guess this is about as far as this I-6 thread idea is going to go. Should I go this way, I'll probably stay away from the SOHC / DOHC fancy stuff and get something with stamped steel valve covers and two or three side drafts. Exhaust on the pax side preferred. Slant ok, too. Heck, even an Olds Rocket sounds good looking. But if I can't resist it, a more modern engine with smaller displacement, more revs and efficiency I will do too, like an OHC Poncho. Thanx again, Gary
You said a 50's style rod, not a 50's engine. Think about a Ford 300 inch six. Stick in some forged pisons, a small four barrel, and a turbo, a nice five speed, and hang on.
Im a couple months late, i know, but seek out a copy of California Bill's Chevy, GMC and Buick inline manual. There were some neat pics of some Chevy and GMC sixes all kitted out for road racing. Even had a pic of racing great Juan Fango campaining a '41 Chev coupe.
No, not necessarily. 300 ford inline, maybe not what you want, weighs less than a 302 by a bit, and less than an sbc by 50+ lbs
Here's two links to other threads on the Chev inliners, the last is a cl***ified ad for the old Wayne 12-port crossflow conversion head. Enjoy!http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=552360&highlight=the+ultimate+235+hop+up http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=497448&highlight=wayne+12+port
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